‘Poor management’ at UTS putting staff mental health at an ‘all-time low’, union alleges

According to the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), employees at the University of Technology (UTS) are at the “breaking point” as a litany of “serious management failures” continue to plague the foundations of the institution.

An overambitious restructuring committed by the UTS is contributing to plummeting rates of employee morale at the institution, which is the latest addition to the myriads of Australian universities undergoing serious alignment issues with staff.

Despite pulling in an annual revenue of $1.1 billion, according to The Australian Financial Review, the university is seeking to cut expenses by $100 million a year while also making capital investments of $640 million over the next five years – exacerbating confusion and distrust within their staffing ranks.

Adding to this is a pledge from vice-chancellor Andrew Parfitt that the university must embark on a job cut of over 400 roles. Reliance on external consultants and an increasing lack of transparency is creating a “culture of fear and mistrust between employees and management”.

“Staff mental health and morale are at an all-time low,” Sarah Attfield, NTEU UTS branch president, said.

“Failures in consultation and transparency have hamstrung staff, leaving them increasingly unable to identify and challenge oversights made by leaders so far removed from the day-to-day functions of the university.”

“When are university leaders going to take real accountability for their errors, instead of making staff and students face the consequences of decisions they had no role in?”

The union claimed that the university has actively refused staff access to financial documents after university leadership claimed a $100 million budget deficit blowout, from an earlier predicted $45 million.

This coincides with issues occurring at the Australian National University (ANU), where union-alleged staff recently partook in an overwhelming vote of no confidence in leadership based on revelations of ANU leadership incorrectly estimating the 2024 budget deficit.

After numerous questions in relation to the budget findings, ANU leadership revealed to staff that the deficit had been revised to $140 million, down from the original projected $200 million.

Unsurprisingly, this overestimation of the budget only fanned the flames of allegations from staff members that the university – which is also set to implement job cuts – only overestimated the budget deficit to better reinforce the need for their cost-cutting measures, which have also included the axing of courses, and the attempt to erase a staff pay rise.

Vince Caughley, NSW division secretary of the NTEU, made the correlation between the UTS and other educational institutions across the country that seemingly committed governance malpractice.

“What our members are experiencing at UTS is yet another example of the governance failures and lack of accountability that have become entrenched in Australian universities. Senior executives and management appear more focused on shielding themselves from scrutiny than ensuring the effective operation of the institutions they are meant to lead,” Caughley said.

“This pattern of decision making – where executives sideline staff expertise, isolate decision making, and ignore internal warnings – has led to serious consequences, not just for ITU and UTS but across the sector. It underscores the urgent need for the senate inquiry into university governance and accountability.”

Additionally, Caughley touched on the alleged bullying, intimidation, and corrosive culture that is being permeated by leadership at these universities.

“Rather than fostering transparency and collaboration, university management is increasingly operating in ways that alienate staff and suppress dissent. Reports of bullying, intimidation, and the erosion of proper decision-making processes are becoming more frequent, pointing to a systemic issue that cannot be ignored,” Caughley said.

“The crisis at UTS is not an isolated case – it’s part of a broader trend of university executives prioritising their own interests over the public institutions they are supposed to serve.”

Among the key exceptions to the job cuts proposed by leadership throughout these universities is the fact that a variety of them – including the vice-chancellors – are on extremely lucrative remuneration packages.

Vice-chancellor Professor Genevieve Bell at ANU is currently on a $1.1 million salary, yet allegedly attempted to pressure staff into forgoing a 2.5 per cent pay rise.

“Unfortunately, what we’re seeing at UTS is symptomatic of the governance crisis engulfing Australian universities,” Dr Damien Cahill, general secretary of the NTEU, said.

“By global comparisons, Australian vice-chancellors’ million-dollar salaries are among some of the highest in the world, yet, all too often, we’re seeing poor management decisions being made under opaque oversight structures,” Cahill said.

“The recent federal parliamentary inquiry into university governance couldn’t have come soon enough. The government has a responsibility to ensure our public universities are fair and thriving spaces that provide the world-class teaching and research this country deserves.”